Bedrin wins again in Dubai as F4 UAE title battle hots up

Photo: F4 UAE

Nikita Bedrin scored his second Formula 4 United Arab Emirates victory of the weekend in race three at Dubai Autodrome, while Freddie Slater’s points lead was reduced to two points. 

PHM Racing’s Bedrin converted his second pole of the weekend into the lead when the lights went out by sweeping across and covering off fellow front-row starter Keanu Al Azhari.

Hitech GP’s Deagen Fairclough prevailed in a four-way battle behind them into turn one to climb from sixth to third, then maintaining the position during an opening-lap challenge from Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri.

The safety car was deployed after Xcel Motorsport’s Alvise Rodella retired at turn one with front-wing and suspension damage. Several other cars also hit trouble, including Enzo Yeh, Kaishun Lui, Chester Kieffer and Doriane Pin.

Racing soon resumed, with Fairclough fending off another attempt from Al Dhaheri into turn one. Bedrin continued to lead, with Al Azhari unsuccessfully trying to make a move around the outside at turn nine.

The Yas Heat Academy driver made another bid for the lead at the start of the next lap, but ran off track exiting turn one before conceding to Bedrin once more. The pair continued to dice, allowing Fairclough to close up behind them, while Al Dhaheri found himself in a three-way battle for fourth with Mumbai Falcons’ Slater and Yas Heat’s Zack Scoular.

The action was halted by the second appearance of the safety car after Sainteloc Racing’s Matteo Quintarelli retired in a collision with PHM duo Kamal Mrad and Maximilian Popov.

The race got underway once more at the halfway stage. Mumbai Falcons’ Kean Nakamura Berta, who had snatched fourth before the stoppage, immediately applied pressure on Fairclough for third but locked up into turn one.

He then drew alongside into turn nine, with Fairclough using the inside line into turn 10 to remain ahead. Al Dhaheri then made it a three-wide scrap on the run to turn 13, but it was Fairclough who prevailed once more.

Having broken clear at the front, Bedrin and Al Azhari went side-by-side for the lead on the pit straight, with Bedrin using the inside line into turn one to maintain the advantage. Al Azhari tried to squeeze up the inside at the same corner a couple of laps later but again couldn’t make the move stick, and Bedrin continued to resist the challenge over the next few laps.

The battle for third became a four-way affair with Slater, having earlier lost ground, producing a bold overtake around the outside of Al Dhaheri into fifth behind Fairclough and Nakamura.

Fairclough’s resistance of third was finally broken in the closing stages, with Nakamura moving past on the inside into turn one, while Al Dhaheri dropped down the order with front-wing damage.

On the penultimate lap, Slater wrestled fourth from Fairclough who at same time was collected by Tiago Rodrigues, the Xcel driver’s car coming to rest on top of Fairclough’s with both drivers able to walk away unharmed. 

That brought the race to a premature end on the final lap, sealing another win for Bedrin ahead of Al Azhari. Nakamura finished third, while Slater’s late move into fourth ensured he maintained the championship lead ahead of Al Azhari.

Scoular was fifth ahead of R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny and Sainteloc’s Jules Caranta. Race two winner Alex Powell climbed from 11th to eighth for Mumbai Falcons, with Hitech duo Gabriel Stilp and Sebastian Murray completing the top 10.

Race results (14 laps)